1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a production system of electrolyzed water which includes an electrolyzer provided therein with a pair of electrodes for continuously electrolyzing water to be treated and discharging electrolyzed water.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 7-251177 is a production system of electrolyzed water. The system includes an electrolyzer provided therein with a pair of electrodes, a water supply conduits connected to an inlet portion of the electrolyzer for supplying water into the electrolyzer from a water supply source, a water flow sensor provided to detect the flow of water supplied into the electrolyzer, and a discharge conduit. The discharge conduit is connected to an outlet port of the electrolyzer and provided with a faucet at its outlet portion, wherein the water from the water supply source flows into the discharge conduit through the electrolyzer when the faucet is opened. In the production system of electrolyzed water, the electrodes of the electrolyzer are applied with DC voltages to electrolyze the supplied water when the flow of water is detected by the water flow sensor[, and the]. The supply of DC voltages to the electrodes is cut off when the flow of water may not be detected by the water flow sensor.
In the production system of electrolyzed water, however, the flow of water is detected by the water flow sensor for a moment when the faucet is erroneously closed by a user immediately after it has been opened or in the occurrence of water hammer. As a result, the electrodes are applied with DC voltages for a short time. Contrarily, when the faucet is fully closed and opened by the user after it has been operated to reduce or throttle the discharge amount of electrolyzed water, the flow of water may not be detected by the water flow sensor for a moment. As a result, the supply of DC voltages to the electrodes is resumed immediately after cut off for a short time. Such instantaneous supply or cut-off of the DC voltages shortens the life span of the electrodes and increases an amount of scale adhered to the electrodes under lack of the flow of water, resulting in deterioration of the electrolysis performance of the production system.
It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide a production system of electrolyzed water in which the supply of DC voltages to the electrodes is maintained or cut off irrespectively of detection of the flow of water for a short time to avoid the problems discussed above.
According to the present invention, the object is accomplished by providing a production system of electrolyzed water. The system includes an electrolyzer provided therein with a pair of electrodes, water supply means for supplying water to be treated into the electrolyzer, and detection means for detecting the flow of water supplied into the electrolyzer. The electrodes of the electrolyzer are applied with DC voltages to electrolyze the water when the flow of water is detected by the detection means[, wherein the]. The production system of electrolyzer comprises control means for applying the DC voltages to the electrodes of the electrolyzer only when the flow of water is continuously detected by the detection means for more than a predetermined time.
In the production system of electrolyzed water, the electrodes of the electrolyzer are applied with the DC voltages under the control means only when the flow of water is continuously detected by the detection means for more than the predetermined time. Accordingly, the electrodes of the electrolyzer may not be applied with the DC voltages when the flow of water is detected by the detection means for a moment or in the occurrence of water hammer. This is useful to prevent deterioration of the life span of the electrodes and to restrain adherence of scale to the electrodes.
In a practical embodiment, there is provided a production system of electrolyzed water which includes an electrolyzer provided therein with a pair of electrodes, a water supply conduit connected to the electrolyzer for continuously supplying water to be treated into the electrolyzer from an external water supply source, a discharge conduit connected to the electrolyzer for discharging electrolyzed water produced in the electrolyzer to the exterior, a manually operated valve provided on the water supply conduit or the discharge conduit for adjusting an amount of the water flowing from the water supply conduit into the discharge conduit through the electrolyzer, detection means for detecting the flow of water, and control means for applying DC voltages to the electrodes of the electrolyzer. The electrodes of the electrolyzer are applied with the DC voltages for electrolysis of the water under control of the control means when the flow of water is detected by the detection means[, wherein the]. The control means comprises means for applying the DC voltages to the electrodes of the electrolyzer only when the flow of water is continuously detected by the detection means for more than a predetermined time.
In another practical embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a production system of electrolyzed water which includes an electrolyzer provided therein with a pair of electrodes, water supply means for supplying water to be treated into the electrolyzer, and detection means for detecting the flow of water supplied into the electrolyzer. The electrodes of the electrolyzer are applied with DC voltages to electrolyze the water when the flow of water is detected by the detection means[, wherein the]. The production system of electrolyzed water comprises control means for cutting off the supply of DC voltages to the electrodes of the electrolyzer when the flow of water is not continuously detected by the detection means for more than a predetermined time.
In a further practical embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a production system of electrolyzed water. The system includes an electrolyzer provided therein with a pair of electrodes, a water supply conduit connected to the electrolyzer for continuously supplying water to be treated into the electrolyzer from an external water supply source, a discharge conduit connected to the electrolyzer for discharging electrolyzed water produced in the electrolyzer to the exterior, and a manually operated valve provided on the water supply conduit or the discharge conduit for adjusting an amount of the water flowing from the water supply conduit into the discharge conduit through the electrolyzer, detection means for detecting the flow of water, and control means for applying DC voltages to the electrodes of the electrolyzer. The electrodes of the electrolyzer are applied with the DC voltages for electrolysis of the water under control of the control means when the flow of water is detected by the detection means. The production system of electrolyzed water comprises means for cutting off the supply of DC voltages to the electrodes of the electrolyzer when the flow of water is not continuously detected by the detection means for more than a predetermined time.